Anna Malfame and the Intentional Imprisonment
by akiqueen
Summary: Malfame, in her sixth year, is on the search of answers from the Headmaster and Chang. The two mix together into something Malfame never expected. There are many paths, but she decides to take the one that puts her directly into the hands of Voldemort.
1. Chapter 1

**Previously on ****The Overruled Acceptance****: Hermione Granger was named to be the new Headmistress of Hogwarts. However, the Ministry intervenes and puts a man named Whiten Forlorn in power. A student exchange program is run with Hogwarts, sending in Suta, who becomes fast friends with Anna Malfame. Lucas Chang, bitter rival of Anna, was sent in Suta's place. Challenged by her own House, Anna is moved to Gryffindor and is sent to the Forbidden Forest. Centaurs come, and Anna learns that Voldemort is still at large—and is horrified to learn the true purpose of the Dark Marks. She is made a member of the herd and sworn to silence. This brings up a rift between friends, and Anna finds herself alone, until a Ravenclaw, Elena Patil, makes friends with her and reveals a shocking fact; that the other school had never received a student by the name of Lucas Chang—so where had the boy gone? Annoyed at her silence, Headmaster Forlorn violently harasses Anna, first with the Unforgivable Curse Crucio and then with a barrage against her mind. But Anna turns the attack back and learns a frightening truth. That the man in front of her is not what he seems…**

**Summary: Mysteries come and convene: what is the truth behind Whiten Forlorn? Where had Lucas Chang gone during his fifth year at Hogwarts? If what Elena had said last chapter was true, why had Lucas started Hogwarts later than he should have? And why was he covering up his true age? And, finally, who is behind all of this? Who's running the Ministry behind the scenes? And why does everything turn into an attack on Anna Malfame—or is it just her paranoia that's making her think that? There is only one way to find out. And so Anna, along with Elena, begins her investigation, completely obsessed with the movements and actions of Lucas Chang and Forlorn. And what she learns makes her world spin: first impressions are broken and previous questions are explained—but with answers no one was expecting. And then, when Chang decides to leave Hogwarts, Anna follows. And that may be her worst decision of all…**

Anna Malfame and the Intentional Imprisonment

Chapter One

Severus and I landed in a large, open field. There was nothing within eyesight for miles and not a sound was heard, other than the wind rustling the long waves of grass. Severus led me by the sleeve of my shirt and we walked for a while, the landscape staying pretty much the same. Severus Snape fished something out of his pocket, handing me an address scribbled onto a small piece of paper. And suddenly, I felt the air pressure intensify as we took another step forward; a small cottage of a house appeared from nowhere. I suddenly knew that my godfather had given me the location of a house under the Fidelius Charm, such as Grimmauld Place before its secret had been passed to so many people the charm was diluted and nearly everyone could find its location. It was one of the reasons why my parents didn't want me staying there, especially after the Triwizard Tournament. Severus opened the door, which squeaked with age. A large cloud of dust was pushed out and what looked like decades-old cobwebs were disrupted from the doorway when Severus swept them away with a flick of his wand. "When was the last time you had been here?" I asked my godfather, watching as he flicked up a switch, turning on amber lights fixated into the ceiling. We were in the kitchen and dining area. It was a Muggle house, and although I was very skeptical, it had running water and most of the lights were working, although all of the furniture and designs were outdated.

"My parents'," Severus explained, running a finger over a countertop, leaving a clean trail among the dust. He muttered cleaning spells, leaving me in the kitchen for a couple of minutes as he walked through a door, probably cleaning the rest of the house. He eventually came back, his robes and hair more dirty than usual. He paid no attention to his state, though, and took a seat by a small table fit for a four person family. "As you know, my mother, who was a witch, married my Muggle father…they ran away from their respective families and moved over here, hiding from society. I've lived at Hogwarts ever since I've been employed there. I'm a little reluctant at leaving the school…who knows what can happen to the school if I'm not there to oversee what's going on? But your parents have asked me to take care of you, and I cannot say no. "

"That's your life story, eh?" I said, cleaning his robes with a spell. Severus scowled at the lemon scent that emanated from his clothes, but said nothing in reply.

"There might be food in the fridge, but I think the preservative spells may have worn off. I'll deal with sorting that out now, but we'll probably have to go shopping somewhere tomorrow. Why don't you go and look around? I'll be sleeping in my parents' room, and you have the first room to your left upstairs. And if you don't mind, could you levitate our trunks and whatnot upstairs?" Severus said under his breath, getting up and walking over to the closets and drawers, opening them with a sigh.

I levitated our things but took our owl cages in my hands. Personally, I had never known that he had an owl; she was a very sleek, salt-grey owl with pristine feathers and wings. I exited the kitchen through a door to my right. It was a compact living room, with a small black and white television up on a stool and a piano that wasn't tuned. There was a staircase at the end of the room which steeply ran up and into a bright little room with a hallway up to the north. The bright room had a desk propped right below an ancient window with stained-glass sides. There was an iron sewing machine sitting heavily on the right side of the desk. I traveled down the hallway, first finding a door to my right. It was Severus's parents' room, as seen by the large double bed covered by a heavy lace. The room seemed to have his mother's touch to it; odd bits and pieces of vases and dried flowers were lining the dressers and tables. A door opened to a bathroom. I left my godfather's things there and went back to the hallway. I opened the door to my room and was surprised to see the remains of a green and silver wallpaper lining the room. There were blurry and indiscernible posters and photos up on the walls and on a desk by the window. There was a small, one person bed with black sheets next to a closet. This bed also had heavy lace on it, but it was crocheted with the silver and green of Slytherin. And other than these few shows of Slytherin pride, the room looked bleak and monotone. I wasn't surprised that my godfather had owned this room. There was also a small bathroom in a room across from the bed. In the hallway again, I opened the next door to my right, which actually led to a small balcony with a perch for owls. I put the owls' cages on a shelf specifically built for that purpose, and opened the doors to let the two owls out. They happily hooted and flew over to their perches. I exited and then entered a room right across. It was the last one in the house, and when I opened it, I was greeted with shelves and shelves of potions, ingredients, and other paraphernalia lining the perimeter. This room was the only one that Severus hadn't cleaned, probably leaving it to be cleaned by hand. There were two small windows which opened outwards and were probably used to air out the room. As I walked out, I saw Severus standing in the hallway. "Well, all that's left that's edible are some jars of honey and preserves. We also have some bottles of fifty-year-old wine as well, but I can't imagine you being too keen about that. We'll have to live off plums and tomatoes today, but tomorrow need to go to Diagon Alley. I need to restock my ingredients and get to cleaning the potion room. Why don't you see if you can make anything edible from the stuff I left on the table? Merlin knows I can make any potion in the world, but my cooking is third-degree at best."

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**A/N: Sixth year. Crazy things will happen in a good way, of course. Next chapter--rekindling friendships. That's all I'm saying ;)**

**Much love,**

**akiqueen**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The dragon egg that I had been stuck with was, of course, out of my mind for most of the time. I was only reminded of it when Severus and I entered Diagon Alley from a quaint inn called the Leaky Cauldron in Muggle London. I was carrying it in a backpack I had fashioned so that I could have my hands free. It wasn't the heaviest thing in the world, maybe slightly heavier than a Quaffle. As I followed Severus down a busy street, the wealthier witches, wearing heavy cloaks and furs wrapped around their shoulders, sniffed at me, probably intimidated by the price I had to pay for the egg. Some wizards eyed me suspiciously, and some younger wizards were whispering to each other. Perhaps they were daring their friends to come up and touch it. Shortly after I had acquired the egg, official wizards who studied dragons, Charlie Weasley among them, came to investigate the site of the dead dragon. They had identified the dragon as a species that originated in Germany, the Blitzkrieg. They were most often seen during lightning storms. Perhaps that was why the Germans had named their famous "lightning war" after this dragon. Unfortunately for me, they had confirmed what the centaurs told me; since I touched the egg, I needed to keep in contact with it until it hatched, or else the baby dragon would reduce me to ashes. So the dragon officials wrote up a permit for me to carry the egg until it hatched, which greatly eased the worry that the Ministry would hunt me down and wipe out my memory where I stood without hearing any explanations.

Severus left for the Apocethary and I stood near a shop that had charmed toys dancing in the store window. This was when trouble started. A woman walked down from an alley to the side of the store, casually glancing at me, maybe taking a look at the doll that was doing pirouettes behind the glass. But she suddenly stopped in her tracks, her gaze focusing on me. She took three steps forward, toward me and glared up. Out from her mouth came a litany of questions and accusations: "Who do you think you are?", "Were you aware of what you did to my family?", "You're a disgrace to your father, I'll tell you what.", "Why, it's probably the dark magic in your veins—Slytherins from Hogwarts never turned out very good, now did they?", and other variations of these. She left me no time to answer her, but I felt anxiety and anger growing in me. She was in a particularly foul-mouthed accusation when someone shouted, "Mom, stop it!" in an American accent. My heart ached as I recognized the voice and saw a ghostly peregrine falcon fly from above. But her mother paid no attention, her hair coming undone and tears pouring down her cheeks.

"My daughter convinced me not to press charges, saying you were her best friend. Of course, I respected her wishes—but you still killed her," she accused. I said nothing about the matter. Maybe it was the dragon that had killed Suta, but it was also my fault for not intervening. I had done nothing to prevent it. Unable to talk even if I wanted to, I turned around and walked away, turning a corner and entering the first store I came to, an old, dusty bookstore that had no customers. The sobs and shouts immediately were silenced from behind me.

There was an ancient woman sitting at an unpolished, oak-wood table, but her neck was craned back and she was softly snoring. A ghostly apparition fazed through the wall and met me. Suta had followed me.

"Anna," she said.

"Look, I can't tell you what happened in the forest. The centaurs made me promise on my life."

"It's not about that," she said, which surprised me. "You really were my best friend. I would have stayed by your side even if you never told me anything."

"You and Lana are angry at me, though. She was angry when I had been chosen as Triwizard Champion without informing her of my entry. So why shouldn't she be mad at me for not telling her anything this time? Although, for the tournament, I swear I had never even been within three feet of that bleeding cup…"

"That's where you're wrong," Suta said. "I've spent some time with Lana Zabini, as you know, and we're pretty good friends. So believe me when I tell you that she's not angry at you for keeping secrets. She knows centaur behavior, and would have forgiven you. She's angry that you distanced yourself from all of your friends."

"But, I thought that—"

"You only assumed that we would be mad at you, Anna. I guess you were afraid to talk to us, or something. Look, I came here with Lana and her family before my mom and I return to America. I'm going back to my school, and I have no idea when we'll see each other again. Back in school, I gave your red screech owl my address."

"Dirigible's a red screech owl?" I asked, unable to think of anything else to say.

"Yes. So write to me. Hopefully my mom won't shred the letters instead of opening them for me." It was then that I realized that, stuck in this form, Suta was restricted in the things she could do. She gave me one last piercing gaze and floated out. I was left alone with the sleeping woman. I took a step back, trying to make sense of what my friend had told me, but I tripped on a rug and came crashing onto a display of books, shaking the woman from her sleep. She stared at me angrily as I murmured hasty spells that erected the books into place.

"Can I help you, m'am?" she asked with a nasally voice.

"Yes, I'm looking for a book on…Animagi," I answered. "How to become one, I mean."

"Well, you wouldn't find an _illegal_ subject such as that in a respectable bookstore like this one," she answered.

"Well, I see no respectable wizards in here now," I said. The woman looked at me, perhaps inferring that I had meant myself. Or perhaps that I had included her in my generalization. Whichever the case, she led me to a back room which was protected with various spells and locks, which took her a while to get through. Finally, she came to a dusty, molding cabinet and took out a dark-mauve book with no words on the cover. She named a ludicrous price and I responded, "You're lucky to have any customers at all". I gave her a handful of Galleons, perhaps making her suspicious of where I had acquired such money. But she was satisfied and I left, never seeing her again. The door to the store disappeared from in front of me. Perhaps it was one purchase per customer.

I met Severus in the Apocethary, reading over my book's list of needed ingredients for an unnamed potion. He seemed to have it all; if not, I threw in the needed bat wings or spider eggs. My godfather said nothing as he approached the owner of the store, who led him to a separate section of the Apocethary which was reserved for those with a license to more dangerous and rare materials that the normal wizard didn't have access to. Some of the more indiscernible items were covered in a myriad of protective spells and were packed in some sort of container. There were eyes staring up at me from some of the dusty jars. There were vines and smoked pieces of some unknown animal hanging from lines. Everything was emitting a sickening smell and I held back the urge to empty my stomach. My godfather, however, looked as if he was in his element. He could probably stay here for hours if I wasn't looking at him with a green face. Severus still asked nothing as I handed him the book, taking a pound of spiny leaves and pointed teeth and other things my potion required.

When we had returned to our little house in the middle of nowhere, Severus and I took everything up to the potions room. He finally sat down after organizing the ingredients and looked up to me. "An Animagus potion?" he asked. I sighed and told him about what had happened between me and Suta. "So why are you becoming an Animagus?" he asked me after I had finished.

"I don't know. I bought the book by impulse and I decided to go through with it. Maybe it's for the sake of having something that both Suta and I share," I answered. Severus rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Do whatever you wish. Your idiot of a grandfather did it, so it'll come three times faster for you. Just make sure you read that book carefully. It's a tricky potion to make. It takes five months of daily supervision."

"How do you know so much about it?" I asked from sheer curiosity.

"Believe me, when you have bucks and wolves running over you every day, you'd become suspicious too. And it wasn't too hard noticing the missing ingredients from Professor Slughorn's storage, nor the bulky backpacks from Pettigrew or Black," Severus said, leaning back in the chair, grimacing at the memory. "Obviously the Marauder genes run in the Potter side of the family. Good thing you've got sensible Slytherin blood in you." I smiled at his jest, looking as his lips crooked at the edges. "All of your ingredients are over there," Severus finally said, gesturing towards a shelf that he had spelled to be a dark-red colour. "I will trust you with this potion, Anna."

"And I thank you for that," I answered, knowing that in having my godfather's approval I would work more readily.

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The Animagus potion demanded most of my attention. When my mind wasn't focused on adding just the right amount of crushed seaweed to the potion or mixing it clockwise for three hours at a rate of one full circle a minute, Severus forced me to sit down on a chair and practice Occlumency. "Occlumency and Legilimency have devolved through the ages," Severus explained to me one the first day of my lessons. "Thousands of years ago, the two were considered the same magic. So, in order to learn one, one must learn the other. Of course, some people show more excellence in one versus the other, and that may be why the magic split into two separate branches. The old magic, called Totusmency—_whole mind_ in Latin—went beyond what today's wizards would call Occlu- or Legilimency. It could give one reign over another's mind and influence their thoughts and actions. You could pick and choose what memories they had or even change these memories. All in all, it was a very dangerous magic, known only by a few wizards."

"That sounds a lot like the Imperius Curse," I stated.

"It is very similar. The Dark Lord is known to strike command into his followers, whether they agree with his ideals or not. That's why so many of the Death Eaters would throw their lives away for him—not because of loyalty, but because of imposed loyalty imprinted from his Legilimency. Dumbledore didn't call him a master of Legilimency for nothing. Now, in order to teach you, I will have to use the same form of Legilimency. Only, it will be like me teaching you directly through your mind." Severus gripped my shoulders, concentrating on my forehead. I suddenly felt a pressure behind my eyeballs—it was eerily familiar to the time Headmaster Whiten Forlorn had tried to read my mind. I remembered when I had figured out the puzzle; that the letters from his name spelled out Rowle Thorfinn, a Death Eater that Lana Zabini's parents had on their list of remaining followers of Voldemort. I had to investigate this, once I got back to Hogwarts. Of course, if I talked to Lana—"_Anna!"_ My vision fazed and it seemed like I was in a deep fog. I occasionally glimpsed figures in the fog, but I didn't know what to make of them. "_Anna, listen to me!"_ I heard inside my thoughts, and recognized the voice as my godfather's. "_You see this fog? These are a physical manifestation of your memories—or can be made into one. You can strengthen them into a blockade against others like so,_" Severus said. I perceived him taking the fog and compressing it, making it thicker and stronger. He seamed to weave my memories like a net. "_However, only you can keep them in this strong shape. Coming into your mind, like now, is the most basic way to handle Occlumency. However, to get into this state, you must achieve a perfect state of concentration and peace, which may take months, even years to master. Great Occlumens can form barriers without entering their minds or even subconsciously, if they have a natural gift for it. Search for the pressure that you felt behind your eyes and follow it to gain this state." _Severus brought me back to the real world and pulled me back into my mind two more times. However, I couldn't get a good grasp at the concept and couldn't manage to make a sufficient blockade against Severus, who could unravel my defenses with a wave of his hand. He then forced me into Legilimency, making me focus on his mind and bringing me to his thoughts as he demonstrated the proper techniques for building a mental barrier. Seeing that I was losing my concentration, Severus forced me out of his mind—"Another form of Occlumency I'll teach you another time."—and set a candle in front of me. With a flick of his wrist, the wick caught on fire. "Concentrate on the flame. Tune everything out. It will help improve your concentration and gain the basic state of a novice Occlumens." He then ordered me to stare at the bleedin' thing for hours.

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**A/N: Suta is gone! There will be letters though, which will be pivotal in the plot. And I plan to bring her back next year. Expect great things for the Animagus bit. Next chapter might be more Occlumency stuff (blatant stealing of ideas from Robin Hobb on her Farseer Magic, though I tried not to make it too similar). I like explaining this previously unexplained stuff. Hmm. Next chapter will also have the first days of Hogwarts and a reunion of friends. Go friends! Originally, I wanted Anna to be all emo and avoid everyone like Harry did in his sixth year, but I decided if it were best that the character started out like that and then grew up from the idea that everything must be put on her shoulders. Some growing up we have here. Go character development!**

**Spoiler (not really): This story will be VERY dark near the end. I plan horribly macabre stuff involving Voldemort and death and pain...and killing... And a clue as to how the Dark Marks can be a means to peace...depending on what your definition of peace is.**

**Hahaha, many lovely things in store,**

**akiqueen**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

I was looking forward to boarding the Hogwarts Express. Wizards and witches were milling around, guiding their children in and waving to students who had already boarded. There were some wide eyed first-years gazing at the train and all the students. Everyone gave a wide berth to Severus who had come to see me off. It was another year without my fathers. "Well, Anna, I guess I'll see you in the Great Hall for the sorting. I need to get there early…"

"Seeing as you're the Head of Slytherin House and the Potions Master," I finished for my godfather. He gave a smirk and I didn't know if he found what I said funny. He turned away, his cloak billowing. He spun in place and disappeared. I sighed and spaced out for a bit, thinking about my godfather and how he had agreed to smuggle in my potion to his private rooms. He'd be continuing my lessons there as—

"_Aunt Anna_!" a voice said, and I felt a large mass crash against me, gripping me in a hug. I was finally released from the bear hug, turning around to see none other than Gwen Dursley, her parents rushing up form behind her.

"I'm sorry! Our daughter usually—oh! Anna!" Carol Dursley, wife to Dudley, exclaimed, giving me a bright smile. "It's been an entire year since we last saw you! How's the family?" I grunted, avoiding the question. I shook Dudley's hand instead and made as if to leave. "Anna? Is anything wrong? Did something happen to Harry or Draco?" Carol asked, worried.

"Nothing's happened. They've always been hiding away somewhere. So I've stayed with different people. To tell the truth, I don't know what's going on with them most of the time," I said. Carol and Dudley said nothing for a moment and only looked at each other. Finally, they decided to leave Gwen in my care and said goodbyes.

Gwen and I entered the train. She gave her luggage to a Prefect and we walked down the aisle, looking for somewhere to sit. A head poked out from an open door. "Anna?" It was Elena Patil, the Ravenclaw I had met last year. She gave me a warm smile and welcomed me inside. To my surprise, a friendly mass of students was there and all of them were my good friends. I introduced them to Gwen: Laura and Zack Weasley (the children of Hermione and Ronald Weasley), Algie Longbottom (son of Neville and Luna Longbottom), Cassius Hilarus (the Gryffindor Seeker), Jessica Weasley (daughter of Bill and Fleur Weasley—her twin sister, Isabelle, had been administered the Dementor's Kiss in my second year), Elena Patil and, of course, Lana Zabini. The only one missing was Suta. Lana was giving me a wry look.

"So, Anna, I hear that we have a mystery to solve about Headmaster Forlorn and your rival, Lucas Chang," Lana said.

"I know Chang," Gwen spoke up. "Wasn't he the one who said he didn't like girls?" We smiled and giggled, although I noticed Cassius perking up at Gwen's words.

"Same old, same old," I said, settling in amidst my friends. Gwen fitted in nicely.

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Gwen departed along with the rest of the first years and my friends and I took the thestral ride to the school. We piled into the Great Hall, glancing at the Headmaster. He was standing, looking over the school. Receiving piercing stares from the other Slytherins, Lana and I sat down at the Gryffindor table. Last year, the rest of my house developed some kind of hate towards me; my theories about what had happened varied, but I thought it had to do with the Headmaster visiting the Slytherin House when Lana and I were absent. Professor Brown, the Head of Gryffindor House, had made arrangements with Severus to transfer us over to the Gryffindor Tower. Figuring out what made the Slytherins kick out their star Seeker was going to be a problem that required some investigation. I looked over to the Ravenclaw table where Elena was talking to Lucas Chang. She'd be our spy as to what was going on with the son of Cho Chang. I grimaced. This year didn't look as if it would turn out to be too great.

The sorting was initiated. The Headmaster called student by student and I cheered loudly when Gwen was sorted into Hufflepuff. When each first-year had been sorted, the Headmaster silenced us and said, "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!" He talked about some preliminary things—don't go into the Forbidden Forest alone, be in bed for curfew, and other basics. "In order to continue getting familiar with all of you, I'll be visiting all of the Houses again this year." I sniffed; this was the exact same thing he did last year.

"We need to get reports on this from everyone," Lana said, inspecting her notebook. "Luckily we now have someone from each House to note down what that man does, except for the Slytherin House. To tell the truth, that's where the trouble lies…we all know that he purposefully held the meeting at my House without me or Anna there; and then shortly afterwards the Slytherins went crazy. But how will we get into the dungeons now?"

"Perhaps my invisibility cloak will finally be of use," I answered. I shifted, noticing some wide-eyed first-years looking at my dragon egg. I scowled and brought out an old piece of parchment from my book bag. "Don't forget about this," I said, pointing my wand at the parchment.

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Over the summer, I had played around with the Marauder's Map and discovered some more of its secrets. I could view certain sections of the castle and pinpoint certain people by writing their names down on the side of the map. The ink would sink in and cause everyone else but that person to disappear. It was time to start a new year at Hogwarts. If only I knew what I was getting myself into.

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**A/N: Whooo!!!!! Next chapter FTW. Many awesome things WILL COMMENCE!**

**LOVE, akiqueen**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Headmaster Forlorn visited Gryffindor right after Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw; based on Gwen's and Elena's reports, however, there was nothing amiss: the same questions were asked, the same elf-prepared food and drinks were served, and the same environment. The Headmaster made pointed stares towards my direction, but otherwise he continued to preach his goals of house unity. _How're you going to do that when you have two Slytherins kicked out of their own house?_ I asked myself. But I quickly hid myself in a corner, draped the invisibility cloak around me, and made my way after the Headmaster. Just as I suspected, he was heading towards the Slytherin dungeons. "Heil die Dunkelheit Herr," the Headmaster said and entered the common room. I followed, wondering what he had said. He addressed the Slytherins, which were lined up before him, row by row. Shackled to the ground. This was when I knew something was wrong.

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A hooded man, short and bulky, was standing in front of them. I couldn't see who it was, although his yellowed eyes peered from the darkness. The first years were crying, the arms of older students on their shoulders, preventing them from moving. "My dear students," the Headmaster started, "I just want to implement what we started last year. You do as I say and I don't kill you. Or worse." One of the older students, a seventh year, spat at the Headmaster. "You make us kick out the best Seeker we have and for what? I think we deserve to know."

"Shut your insolent mouth!" Forlorn said, raising his wand.

"Stop," the hooded person said, his voice husky and male. The Headmaster stood still in his tracks. "And as for you, boy, you will learn to obey me like your Headmaster obeys me. Or I will put an Imperius Curse on you as well." I felt a cold chill up my spine at his words and my feet rattled. It was then that I noticed the man's bare left arm, the skull of the Dark Mark grinning at me. He took off his hood—and there stood the Rowle Thorfinn I had acquainted myself through various newspaper pictures and photographs. Finally, I understood that the Headmaster wasn't aware of his own actions. I had suspected the wrong man. Rowle went up to the Headmaster and rolled up his sleeve, showing the frightened students an exact replica of the skull and snake I had become so familiar with. "Now, if you don't want this to happen to you, you will do as the Headmaster tells you to. You will isolate Malfame and leave her for our Lord. You will continue studying the magic set on Hogwarts and continue destroying the castle's defenses. You did a good job last year; the earthquake was a sign of that. Shortly, the castle will be no match against the Dark Lord!" He laughed, crazed, his yellow eyes bulging. "Continue or you will get a pretty tat' on your forearm as well! Doesn't that sound like fun?" he laughed, but the students only shivered in place. "I asked—isn't that fun?" Forced chuckles came from the mouths of students who feared for their lives. A thought flickered through my brain, a switch turning on. I remembered what Severus had told me—that Voldemort could control anyone through Legilimency whether they believed in his ideals or not. I understood, now, that the Headmaster was an innocent man; who it really was could be anybody's guess. However, one thing still filled me with dread; where was Severus and why wasn't he aware of what was happening right under his nose? Deciding to act on this thought, I took a couple of steps forward to a dark corridor. However, I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard the laughing stop and a breath behind me. I turned around, finding that the real Rowle Thorfinn was not too far from me, looking in my general area. "Here, my pretty," he called. The students were looking at me too. Only, I knew no one could see me because of my invisibility cloak. "I know you're there. You tried to escape me, hmm? Well, maybe you'll come out of the corner if I threaten one of your friends?" He walked over to a girl, someone I knew and had worked with before, Penelope Winston; my former roommate. "Now, killing you would cause a scandal; that it would. But what can the Ministry do? They're all under the Dark Lord's control! _Crucio_!" he yelled, and the red flames engulfed Penelope, causing her to fall, her muscles contracting in pain. Silent tears fell from her eyes and the eyes of the others. None of the eyes showed anger—they thought that Rowle was mad. Crazy. Hurting for no reason. I peeled away my eyes, taking another step forward. "_Crucio_!" Rowle screamed again at Penelope. "Show yourself or I will continue this!" But the students thought he was mad. I took another step. "_Crucio_!" he said with a laugh, still aiming at Penelope, her shrill screams becoming fainter and fainter. Always aiming at Penelope; "_Crucio_!", another step, "_Crucio_!", and another step. "_Crucio! Crucio!!! CRUCIO!!!"_ I rounded the corner into the corridor, hearing the ragged, defeated breathing of my roommate. Unable to see Penelope anymore, I heard a whispered, "_Avada Kedavra_." I cried silently, knowing that I should've stepped up. Someone else had died because I hadn't done anything but walk away. But the others didn't know that. They thought Rowle was mad.

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I found Severus in his office, half on top of his desk, his nails peeling the paint off of the old wood. He held his left forearm, clutching the Dark Mark, which was glowing an angry red. The snake was slithering and tears were coming from my godfather's eyes. Eventually it stopped, leaving Severus in a cold sweat, shaking and shivering. I had never seen him this way. He dragged himself up and looked at me, fear in his eyes and said, "The Dark Lord has just summoned his Death Eaters. Anna, do you know what that means? The Dark Lord is back. The Dark Lord's back, Anna!" And we cried together.

---

I was numb for the entire day, even after I had told my friends what I had witnessed. The name "Whiten Forlorn" never showed up on the map—so when we had seen the name "Rowle Thorfinn" register on the map, we had been sure that I had been right; that the headmaster was a Death Eater and had used the letters of his name to create a new one. We were positive. We were idiots. No one had the map in hand when I went to the dungeons, because we were so sure of ourselves. And everyone regularly switched classrooms and walked around, so we were unable to determine who the Headmaster was in reality. Rowle prowled around regularly too; who he was hiding as was a mystery as well. But, as always, opportunity comes with the most surprising findings. Elena and I were working on a project together in the library when she told me she's recently been tailing Chang. One time, late after curfew, she followed him with measured steps. She saw him with a cloaked man, meeting in a deserted hallway. She accidentally shuffled too loudly and ran away before they could see her, but it got me curious. So I pinpointed Chang and wouldn't you know it. He was with Cassius. But not once, multiple times. Always for at least ten minutes or more. And sometimes they would disappear off of the map, in the spot where I knew the Room of Requirement was. It was time to interrogate my Gryffindor friend.

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**A/N: Ahh, the evil conspiracies!! YES! Wait until I do some more funky stuff with Death (remember her? You don't? Read the fourth fic from this series) and now another aspect I will include will be FATE!! And the dragon and Suta. OMG PEOPLE WILL DIE. Yeah. This one will definitely be filled with lots of dead people. **

**I sounded really weird, but I'm excited for how horrilby dark this one will be... Anyways, the Slytherin password, and excuse me for the bad translation to German, is "Hail the Dark Lord"!**

**Much love,**

**akiqueen**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

I waited outside the library doors until Cassius came out, Chang walking about five feet behind him. I gave my friend a pointed look and led him to a deserted classroom, giving a glance behind me to find a wide-eyed Chang. "Anna," Cassius said once we were inside the classroom, "What's all this about?" I hoisted myself onto an old desk. Cassius shuffled back, his back against the closed door and his hands inching towards the doorknob. I locked it with a wave of my wand, and Cassius visibly started to shake. I also put a silencing spell on the room, incase Chang decided to follow. "Anna?"

"Why are you spending time with Chang without informing me about it?" I asked calmly. Cassius ran a hand through his sandy-blonde hair and fumbled with his robes.

"We're working on a project together?" Cassius said.

"That requires for you to go into the Room of Requirement?" I asked him, and he knew he was caught.

"Okay," he finally relented, sitting down on the floor. "Remember our fourth year, where I asked you to the Yule Ball?" he cut off, as if he was expecting for me to speak up. I didn't and he sighed. "When I said that I wasn't ready to come out that I was gay?" I continued to stare at my Gryffindor friend. "And then on the Hogwarts Express you mentioned that Chang didn't like girls? Well, I decided—he's not that bad-looking and he's from Ravenclaw, so he's smart…So I met up with him and then we talked and it only progressed from there. Is that enough for you?" I brought my hand up and pinched the bridge of my nose. So one of my good friends is in a relationship with my enemy. I'd only be a hypocrite if I didn't accept it and my Gryffindor friend knew it. They'd probably kissed and Merlin knows _what _they did in the Room of Requirement. If I could convince him to get me more information on Chang, it could actually turn out beneficial. If Cassius would agree to it, though, was a whole different matter. Bloody Gryffindors and their Gryffindor honor. While I had tuned out, Cassius, in the meantime, had continued to spill his guts to me. "—I _swear_ the only thing that was _ever_ removed was our shirts, nothing past that!"

"Thank you, Cassius," I sighed. "And I bet everything's swell and you're having wet dreams 'bout him every night." My friend blushed, mumbling something incoherent. "But you realize that something suspicious is going on with Chang, right?"

"I won't do anything to harm Lucas. You know that."

"Yes, I do. So I won't try pushing you into spying on him for me like any real Slytherin would."

"Thank you," Cassius replied, a little shocked. I think he was expecting a fight about the issue.

"However!" I interrupted before he could say anything more, "You cannot stop _me_ from trying to figure out _our_ Ravenclaw." Cassius grumbled, but I could tell that he wasn't too mad. I unlocked the door and he moved out of the way, letting me out. I immediately bumped into Chang, who looked as if he was caught doing something inappropriate. I clapped his shoulder, saying, "Good luck." He was visibly shocked and stood still. I rounded the corner and made my way to my next class.

---

With Lucas being both distracted by Cassius and tailed by Elena, he became a smaller concern. Instead, I kept myself focused on the moving dot on the Marauder's Map that was labeled "Rowle Thorfinn". However, there were no points during the day when the man was alone and at night he disappeared off of the grounds—or did _something_ since he wasn't registered on the map. Perhaps he knew about the Room of Requirement as well. As obsessed as I got about this man's position, however, my friends and I wrote out his every position. We wrote down the rooms he visited and the time he spent in each of them. But there was no visible pattern—the only thing that we did notice was that he was always with two or more people. So when, for the first time in two weeks he was alone with another person, it was horribly suspicious. Especially when it was in the deepest part of the dungeons.

I feared for Professor Abbot, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

---

Wrapped in my invisibility cloak, I followed the Map's directions down multiple stairs into an area of the school which hadn't been visited since my fathers' time at school. I tiptoed on the cold stone, careful not to let my steps echo through the empty cells. A sudden, sharp slap of skin against skin reverberated through the stone. I hurried to a lit cell and to my surprise, I was met with something I had never expected. A chair was nailed to the floor. And chained to the chair was none other than Rowle Thorfinn himself, the wand of the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at his throat.

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**A/N: Whoo! NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE FTW.**

**Much love~~**

**akiqueen**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

All this time I had thought the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor mediocre. Of course, I shouldn't count my eggs before they hatch. The man chained to the chair screamed—his face became disfigured, his clothes suddenly too bulky, his frame skeletal. It was the _real_ Professor Abbot. My eyes slowly made their way to the "Professor", and he was undergoing a similar change—growing taller, his hair growing fuller, and his eyes becoming yellow. The real Rowle Thorfinn. My head spinning, I wondered where Headmaster Forlorn fit into this. Unfortunately, I got my reply. The real Rowle Thorfinn crept up to the Professor's head, ripping out chunks of hair from his scalp. Professor Abbot screamed shrilly, crying, "Stop doing this!"

"And, pray tell, why should I do that?" Rowle said harshly, his finger caressing the professor's chin. "When you listen to directions so nicely? Of course, that's only when I cast the Imperius Curse."

"You killed my wife," Professor Abbot spat, "You forced me to enter Malfame's name into the Triwizard Tournament, and then—"

"Oh, shut up," Thorfinn said, grabbing the man's throat and forcing down a putrid looking liquid. Suddenly, Professor Abbot's features shifted and Headmaster Forlorn was sitting in his place. It had been a Polyjuice Potion.

"It's one of those you killed, right? One of those who defected from the Death Eaters and you're turning me into him?" The Headmaster asked harshly.

"I guess you have the right to know. Yes, it is. He was killed by yours truly. And this is our last dose of hair. We won't have a use for you anymore."

"I'd rather die than be used by you," the Headmaster said bitterly, spitting at Thorfinn's feet. Rowle scowled, raise his wand and said, "_Imperio_." But the Headmaster resisted. He convulsed in his spot, tears coming out of his eyes as he struggled against the curse. He bit down on his tongue, hard. And that was that. Rowle Thorfinn cut off the spell, leaving a dazed Whiten Forlorn in the chair, floods of blood coming from his mouth. He frowned.

"I guess we'll need a new Headmaster," he said to himself. "Perhaps that filthy Mudblood will be let in by the Dark Lord. Our work here at the school is nearly done. The Slytherins have almost removed all of the castle's protective spells and our soon to be newest recruit is working amiably. We will soon have that filthy traitor's da—" he stopped, turning around swiftly, looking right at me. I pulled my invisibility cloak tighter against me, my heart stopping in its tracks. Thorfinn sniffed the air, and he pointed his wand directly at my chest. "Show yourself!" he growled. "You're the same person that was in the Slytherin common room that one time! SHOW YOURSELF!" he screamed. He stomped out and I swiftly made my way back, unaware of my loud footsteps filling up the normally quiet cells.

---

I kept running, pushing through students who screamed at the invisible intruder, probably thinking it was another of Peeve's jokes. I ran up staircases and rushed passed a group of Gryffindors in front of the open painting of the Fat Lady. I collapsed through the door of my room and elicited a gasp from my roommates as I tore off the invisibility cloak from my body. Lana Zabini, Laura and Jessica Weasley looked as I fell, exhausted, onto my bed. They took me by the shoulders and prompted me up, leading me to the bathroom where I threw up, my body shivering although I wasn't cold. I gasped out what I had seen and heard, but my friends made no remarks until I had calmed down. But by then it was already too late for their comfort. Professor Brown, Head of Gryffindor, called every into the common room, looking pale and white. "It seems that Headmaster Forlorn had disappeared from Hogwarts. An official from the Ministry of Magic arrived to talk to all of us," she said. It was the only thing out of her mouth as we followed the Head of House down to the Great Hall, which was already being filled up by students. An old-looking man was up by a pedestal, waiting until everyone was seated. Once everyone had been silenced, he cleared his voice and said, "I'm here with the Minister of Magic himself, Kingsley Shacklebolt. He is currently in another room, discussing who to place as the new Headmaster. Headmaster Whiten Forlorn came to the Ministry first, saying he was resigning and then he disappeared. We currently have no more information than that."

"May I intrude?" a voice came from an opening door. It was Kingsley Shacklebolt, looking tired and stressed out. "The other members of the Ministry had convened and we decided to place Mrs. Hermione Granger as the new Headmistress." There was no applause. The Minister came and took the place of the old man. "She was the one originally chosen to be Hogwart's Headmistress after McGonagall had resigned. However, the Ministry decided otherwise." Here he scanned the room and locked his eyes with me. "Whiten Forlorn's disappearance was truly a mystery. If only I had the answers I needed. It seems that more and more is getting out of hand." He paused again, the students quiet and waiting. "I need to tell you students something. For some reason, magic in areas of highly-congested magical power has been going wrong. Spells don't have the same potency or are not working at all. We suspect that the earthquake experienced last year by your school was a cause of this phenomenon. And I can tell that the question in your mind is the same—does that mean Hogwarts won't have any more magical power? I don't know." He leaned forward in my direction. "I am meeting with experts on magic in Hogsmeade, in an inn called the Dancing Dragon next Saturday. I'm sure it'll be an entire day of discussing what is happening and what we can do to stop it. I'm asking that you don't visit that inn on your trip to Hogsmeade next Saturday."

How I loved this man.

---

Lana opened the door of the Dancing Dragon and I went inside, the familiar cloth of the invisibility cloak against my skin. I leaned over the counter and got Shacklebolt's room number. Room 23. I frowned and made my way to the second floor and knocked on the door, which opened without hesitation. Kingsley closed the door, locked it, and set a multitude of spells. I uncloaked myself. "How'd you know it was me?" I asked without smiling.

"I let you keep that cloak for a reason, you know," he replied.

"Where are these experts you were talking about?" I asked.

"We already met. Anna, let me tell you something. I hold no power anymore. I'm what you would call a puppet set up by the members of the Ministry," he told me. "Who holds the power is Lucius." I gasped through my teeth. "And none of us dare to oppose him. Because if we do, we return with an Imperius Curse set on us. Or worse, we're killed. If I dare make a stand, all the wizards in Great Britain will be killed."

"How can he make a claim like that?" I asked incredulously.

"You don't understand. The statue was set up again." He was talking about the ghastly statue of Voldemort sitting on a throne of dead bodies. "Tell me what you know, Anna. Because I know you meddle too far for your own good."

"What do Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, the Ministry and Godric's Hollow all have in common?" I asked.

"They have all been attacked by Voldemort or Death Eaters," Shacklebolt answered easily.

"Wrong. They all have had Dark Marks cast over them," I corrected. I explained what Edda the centaur had explained to me the previous year. However, the information I told him was limited. "I'm under a centaur's promise, Minister Shaklebolt," I finished.

"So the Dark Marks still exist…"

"Yes, I can see them," I answered, looking out through the window and pinpointing the floating skull and snake mark in the air.

"And they will cause all magic to cease. Unless you're a Death Eater. And the Dark Marks on their forearms are Horcruxes," Shacklebolt repeated. He then sighed. "What can I do?" he asked himself.

"Store that memory away so no one knows that _you_ know. I'm already on the fringes of breaking my promise."

"Nonetheless, I wish you could tell me more," Shacklebolt said sadly. "But please, call me Kingsley. And I thank you for what you were able to tell me, Anna." I donned my cloak and he opened the door for me. Before I took another step I said, "I saw, Kingsley. As Professor Abbot killed himself." Kingsley frowned. He already knew what had really happened with the Headmaster. He clasped my invisible shoulder, but said nothing more. I made my way outside, where Lana was waiting for me. I hid in a corner and took off my cloak, stuffing it into my bag.

"So, how'd it go?"

"As well as it could have," I answered her and we made our way down the leaf-filled street. While we were walking, though, Cassius crashed into my body, tears streaming through his eyes.

"Anna, he said he had to leave," he cried out.

"Who?" I asked, slightly dazed by the death-grip my friend had on my arms.

"Lucas! He said he was going and he'd never come back!" Cassius cried, stuffing a piece of parchment into my hands. "He said to give that to you, Anna," he sniffled, watching as I unrolled the parchment, finding a photo of a white mansion on top of a lonely hill. Something about it seemed familiar; there were white peacocks walking around, pecking at the ground, surrounded by a large fence marking the mansion's boundaries. But that wasn't what brought shivers down my back. Floating above it was the Dark Mark, the bleached skull and green snake bright. I knew I was the only who saw it and made no comment. But what Lana said was, perhaps, even worse than what I saw above the mansion.

"Why, that's the Malfoy Mansion," she whispered, her eyes wide with fear.

"You'll bring back Lucas, right Anna?" Cassius said, hysteria in his words. Lana gave me a look.

"Seeker's Pact," I said to Cassius. "I will go after Chang." Cassius looked up gratefully, shaking my hand. I didn't say anything about bringing him back, though. But this was the chance I'd been looking for—to figure out what my enemy had been up to the previous year. And what he had gotten himself into.

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**A/N: Yes!! Whoo! I got the name Dancing Dragon from Prancing Pony from LotR. More awesomeness to come.**

**Much love,**

**akiqueen**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"You can't bring your dragon egg with you, Anna," Lana said as we opened the door to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"That's why I'm taking it here," I said, walking in. "And you're here to get me back out."

"Out of where?" a ghostly voice asked; it was Myrtle herself. I rolled my eyes. Getting her annoyed would only leave me with a pounding headache.

"The Chamber of Secrets," I replied, walking to the musty sink. "Since I have the blood of the same basilisk that once lived down there in my veins, it should let me in. Right?"

"I dunno, Anna. I guess you could try," Lana replied, amused.

"Wait, you're Anna _Malfame_?" Myrtle asked. "That means your father was _Harry Potter_!" I ignored her, finding the faucet with a snake carved into it. I purposely cut myself, getting my blood onto the faucet—surprisingly, a creaking was heard and the stone shifted, grating harshly with years of disuse. "Your dad promised me that he's join me when he died. Remind him of that!" Myrtle told me as I grabbed the end of Lana's rope. I pushed myself down the pipe, listening to the echoing laughter of my friend. I landed with a sickening crunch of bones. I lit my wand with a _Lumos_ and found that I was correct—in fact, the ancient snake skin was still there, wrinkled and shriveled. I made my way through the chamber, finally getting to a large room with the remains of a basilisk carcass. Although it had been a couple years, there was still some rotting meat attached to the bones of the large snake. A baby _Blitzkrieg_'s favourite food.

"To think you saved my life," I said, hearing my voice reach the recesses of the room. I stopped in front of a large pool, looking up at the image of Salazar Slytherin.

"Anna Malfame," a voice called, and I visibly jumped. I turned around, seeing an ageless woman in front of me, holding spools of thread in her hands. Behind her was a little girl with blonde curls. She was wearing a black, lacy dress and looked visibly angry. I recognized her immediately. "Yes, that's Death, from the Veil," the woman told me. "She had stolen one of my threads and had allowed you to change it."

"I thought I couldn't change fate," I said, immediately understanding who this woman was.

"That would be boring," she said, smiling, "If you knew exactly what was going to happen. In fact, among one person's life, there are millions of possibilities." She picked out a thread. It was labeled _Anna Malfame_. She pulled it out, somehow letting it hover in the air. From it branched out other threads, sort of like a tree branch. She rolled up the thread and took out two more. They twisted together and pulled apart, reminding me of a strand of DNA. "This is your fathers' threads. As you can see, there were many possibilities for them to remain enemies or come together. However, you came in and set them together." She pointed at where the two threads merged into one. "This is actually why there are parallel universes, where, in one point of history, someone goes down another path—and causes a chain reaction." Here she stared at Death. "In fact, in some other universe, your fathers are still enemies, Ginerva Weasley is still alive and married to Harry and their children have ridiculous names."

"Like in that book I found last year in that Muggle library," I reminisced. Fate took out my thread again. This time, she showed me the whole thing; either way I looked, all of the branching threads stopped short.

"This is where you die," she told me. "And it will be your choices that effect when you will die."

"Everyone dies," I said, looking at the imposing woman. She rolled out a thread labeled _Tom Riddle_. It kept going. And going and going. There were some instances where the thread tapered off, but not many. And in some cases, they ended and started back up again, as if the Dark Lord came back to life. "Why can't you kill him, then?" I asked.

"I do not rule that. I have already done what I could," she put my thread by Voldemort's and I saw as they came together in conflict. "I'm sorry," she said. "But, in this universe, this is the only way to get rid of the Dark Lord."

"Who are you?" I finally asked.

"An aspect that few humans have the chance to see. In any regards, I shouldn't even be talking to you. It isn't our duty to directly meddle in the affairs of humans…but if you don't stop the Dark Lord…well, all of the threads end." The two left me at that, disappearing into the shadows. I placed the dragon egg onto the cold, stone ground. I put one of my sweaters on it. It had a heating charm on it and my scent meant to mimic my body. Hopefully one of my deaths wasn't "eaten by dragon".

---

After Lana had pulled me back up and we escaped Myrtle's bathroom, I made my way to my godfather's private rooms. He met me with a flask in hand. "Here's your Animagus potion. It had finished last night."

"Wait—are you telling me that a cauldron-full of ingredients only made this much?" I asked.

"Yes. Enough for one use," Severus answered.

"I guess I should take it now," I said, downing the potion in one gulp. It was tasteless.

"The effects could take a couple of days to appear. And it could happen at any time. We wouldn't want you turning into an alligator in the middle of my class."

"I'm going, Severus," I said. He stopped smiling his half-smile, focused on me.

"Where?" he only asked me.

"After Chang. To the Malfoy Mansion," I said, not meeting his eyes. I left his room, grabbed my broom and hitched a ride on a thestral off of the school grounds. We landed a ways off. I let the thestral go and took a deep breath—we'd been practicing Apparition and hopefully I wouldn't sever my leg or something. But after spinning I appeared, whole and a little sick to my stomach, in a small village. I clambered onto my broom, and flew off into the direction of the mansion. About fifty yards away, I ditched my broom in a thick bramble of bushes and walked to the gates where two hooded guards were standing. They came up to me, harshly holding my hands behind my back and taking my wand.

"There's no need for that," a voice said. "She came willingly." We took a step forward and the gates closed and locked behind me. I was trapped inside, face to face with a man with a snake-like face; slits for nostrils and cat-like eyes.

"Hello, Tom Riddle," I said. He scowled. Obviously, he didn't like being called by his real name. But suddenly, his features shifted, and it was Lucius who was looking down at me. "What did you do?" I asked, unable to keep silent.

"I took over his body, of course. Chang? Come show Ms. Malfame the dungeons," Voldemort called. And sure enough, my ages long enemy came up, went down onto his knees and kissed the hem of Vodemort's cloak, and stood back up. He grasped my arms and led me inside.

"I couldn't believe you had sunken so low," was the only thing I said. I said nothing more after I was slapped by his cold hand.

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**A/N: Heehee! More EVIL to come!**

**Much love,**

**akiqueen**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Lucas Chang led me down a regaled hallway, decorated with tall columns, sculptures, paintings, rugs…it kept going and going, multitudes of other hallways branching off and out into unknown territory. At the end of the large room was a wooden chair; that was it. It was draped in colorful fabric and behind it was a banner with a large, green anaconda. Robes swept past me as the inhuman man made a show of sitting down. "Anna Malfame," Voldemort said. "Or should I say Anna Malfoy-Potter?" I scowled. He knew my real last name.

"I know what the Dark Marks really do," I told him. Voldemort shifted in his seat, leaning forward.

"Really? And would you tell me _how_ you know that?" He smiled toothily, his yellow teeth gleaming.

"Even if I said, you would kill me, right?" I replied.

"I can make one more Dark Mark," he told me. "Before I'm too inhuman and divided to live. Your friend wanted the honour of becoming my final Death Eater." I looked over to Chang, his head down and hair covering his face. "Kill her, Chang," Voldemort said calmly. Chang shakily pointed his wand at me, still unable to look up. He hesitated. "KILL HER, CHANG!" the Dark Lord growled, his eyes dilating in anger. But Lucas continued to hesitate.

"You will bring back my mother, right?" he asked.

"Of course," Voldemort promised through clenched teeth. I glanced to Lucas, who was finally looking at me with tears in his eyes.

"Lucas," I said, dropping his last name, "you can't bring back the dead."

"You don't understand! it's my mother!" he told me in a cold voice. But I did understand. So many had died in front of my eyes…

"I'm sorry for Cho…"

"You have two fathers, Malfame," Chang told me. "And I have two mothers. An even trade, don't you think? After your father abandoned her, her only friend was my other mother. It is your fathers' faults that Ginevra Weasley died!" Chang shrieked. I was shocked. "Her last wish was to put her child in school with the children of her schoolmates," he whispered. I realized, perhaps too late, that not only had I changed my fathers' timelines, I had changed others'. When I had put Harry and Draco together, that left Ginevra wide open for anyone else—and I had set her up with Cho Chang. "But no matter how much I want it, I can't kill you," Chang admitted. "WHY CAN'T I BLOODY KILL YOU?!" he yelled. He took a deep breath. "Tell Cassius…that I love him. Goodbye." It was then that I noticed Voldemort's wand pressed against Chang's back.

"_Avada Kedavra_," Voldemort said and the spell flashed green. Chang fell to the ground. "Thorfinn!" Voldemort called and Rowle Thorfinn appeared with a body slung over his shoulder.

"Professor Abbot…" I murmured when I realized who it was.

"That's right, girlie," Rowle Thorfinn laughed. "Just took care of him. I guess I got to dump Chang too." I watched as he hefted the Ravenclaw onto his shoulder and walked out.

"Well, I have the death I need for the spell, at least," Voldemort said. "Put her into a cell," he called out. Death Eaters, cloaked and masked, came out from the shadows and grabbed my arms. I didn't resist as they led me down multiple flights of stairs hidden away in a corner somewhere. Finally, we came to a dark and musky dungeon. They opened a cell and threw me in. I gasped as my body hit the cold floor.

"Are you all right?" someone asked, touching me. I shivered and shifted to see who it was. It was an old woman; however, she looked elegant if unkempt. She looked the type of person who only became more beautiful with age. She had white-blonde hair and blue eyes and wrinkles around her eyes. But she had no laugh lines. "Anna!" she exclaimed. "Oh, I haven't seen you since you were a baby…you look just like my son."

"…Narcissa Malfoy?" I asked. "Grandmother?" I tried out. She chuckled. "I thought you were away…hiding."

"I can't hide as long as I have this," she said, pushing up her sleeve and revealing a tattoo of the Dark Mark. "I've been trapped in this house by Voldemort ever since he decided to come back. Took over my husband's body and slowly took him from me…"

"I'm sorry…" I said.

"You have seen so much death," Narcissa said, touching my cheek. "And you barely know your own parents."

"But…how do you know that?" I asked her, wide-eyed.

"I don't know what they told you…but every day they are fighting. For all of us. They are traveling, trying to find out a way to destroy the Dark Lord forever."

"They said they were hiding," I told her.

"They're Aurors. Even if they're working for a corrupt Ministry," Narcissa told me. "Voldemort has eyes everywhere. He had even managed to infiltrate Hogwarts."

"Well, what I w—" my breath stopped. I choked, unable to breath and brought my hands to my throat.

"Anna? Anna, are you okay?" Narcissa asked me, holding my arm. My shoulder dislocated with a sharp, painless snap. I coughed and could breath again, taking in more gasps of air as more parts of my body cracked and twisted.

"Animorph potion," I coughed out.

"This isn't what's supposed to happen," she told me. "I have seen first time transformations. They're nothing like this. Your body is fighting against it. You will die… And I will see it!" she cried. She wiped her eyes. "You're shifting. I see traits of one animal struggling against another. That's never happened before. A wizard has only one inner animal."

"My blood!" I gasped out, the floor at my face and the room seeming to get bigger.

"Oh Merlin…in order to have a child, Harry needed to eliminate the presence of Basilisk venom in his veins…and he used…" she gasped and shuffled back. "Snake," she said. She cried. "You look like that horrid snake!"

---

I had human perception along with the snake's. I tasted the air and looked over to Narcissa. I concentrated on my human form and soon found myself on all fours, looking at my grandmother. "You look like the Dark Lord's snake, before she was killed," she explained to me, hand on her chest. "I'm sorry for overreacting."

"No, it's brilliant. I have an idea," I said. "But I need to get out of here. I can squeeze through the bars as a snake, right?"

"Yes, but the bars have a magic seal on them…Voldemort will capture and punish you."

"Good. That's what I'm planning to do," I said. I unlatched myself from my grandmother and turned back into a snake. I slithered out and immediately changed myself back. I ran towards the stairs, straight into the waiting arms of a Death Eater.

"Don't struggle!" he warned.

"I wasn't planning to," I answered.

"How did you escape?" he demanded, harshly turning me around and pushing me up the stairs.

"I'll gladly tell Tom," I said, receiving a sharp prod in my side from the Death Eater's wand. I was soon back in front of the chair. Voldemort was waiting.

"Can't stay still, can you?" he asked me. "How'd you get out? You know you will have to be punished, right?"

"I will show you," I said and again forced myself to transform into the large snake. The Dark Lord shifted.

"Nagini?" he whispered. I heard him and knew I had him. I changed back, walking right up to him and kneeling down onto the ground.

"Make me your final Death Eater," I said. Voldemort laughed.

"Are you serious?" he asked me.

"No, that's my father's godfather," I replied, smiling.

"No one has ever talked to me this way," the Dark Lord said. I was sick to my stomach, my head was reeling, and I was shaking head to toe.

"You're a master of Legilimency," I said. "See for yourself if I am serious." I offered him my head.

---

The force of his Legilimency was intense. I was unprepared for it; it was many times stronger than my godfather's. But Snape was a master Occlumens and had taught me all he knew. I came riding along Voldemort into my mind and blockaded everything which he couldn't see, hiding it away into a corner and making it seem insignificant. It was then that I provided him with false memories. They weren't fabricated; more like half-truths. Bits of memory that I offered to him. Of all the times I hurt my parents and my friends. Seeing blood and death. Smiling at it. I needed to prove to this man that I was as cynical as he was. It hurt my heart but I did it. He finally let go of me. _Survive this_, I told myself. "Everything was a lie," he said and my heart clenched. Did he figure out what I had done? "All of your signs of caring were lies. All of your acts…"

"Were done to get closer to you," I provided, mentally sighing in relief. My blood was pumping and I prayed he couldn't hear my heart.

"But perhaps you are too ambitious. You want to excel over me."

"Then take power over me," I said, offering him my left forearm. Suddenly, a voice yelled out, "Lord, we have captured more prisoners." It was Rowle Thorfinn. I didn't look back and continued to look up into the soulless eyes above me.

"I will take you…but you must prove your worth. You will kill these prisoners. Now get up," he commanded. I stood up without hesitation. "And kill them," he snarled. I turned around. Rowle Thorfinn was waiting with two prisoners, both chained and miserable. They were bleeding and half-dead already. But despite this, I knew who the two were. It was Blaise and Pansy Zabini, Lana's parents. They looked at me—they had seen me offering myself to the enemy.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

There were a few moments of silence as we looked at one another—however, their eyes were glistening. Blaise slowly winked and gave a faint smile. I frowned, wondering what they were thinking. "Kill them," Voldemort said once again and pressed my wand into my hand. But suddenly, the room was filled with screeching and flapping of wings—I saw a ghostly form swoop in and through Thorfinn, causing him to lose his prisoners. I recognized the peregrine ghost as Suta, who disappeared as soon as the Zabinis had reached the door. They flung it open and another bird flew in, this time solid and red. To my amazement, it was my red screech owl, Dirigible. He clawed at Thorfinn, tearing off his clothes and hair. But, even more surprising, he seemed to shift—and suddenly, beside the Death Eater was a familiar-looking man with red hair, freckles, and horn-rimmed glasses. He knocked out Rowle and charged at us. Voldemort shot up from his seat, seething.

"Looks like I finally found you!" my owl turned human said, raising his wand threateningly.

"Weasley," Voldemort hissed. "If anything, I want you dead more than those other two." I was surprised at his last name—I didn't recognize him as one of the Weasleys. He yelled a hex and I was suddenly thrown to the other side of the room. Weasley pounced after me, tossing the both of us into the shadows.

"Lana wrote to Suta about where you were going and she told me. I revealed I was an Animagus to her long ago."

"But who are you?" I asked.

"Percy Weasley. Now we don't have time, so let's make this quick. _Kill me_!" I did a double take, looking at the man. "Voldemort took everything away from me. Betrayed me. That's right; I used to be under his command. But he killed my wife. So I defected—gave away a lot of information the Dark Lord didn't know I had. So just kill me; we have the rest covered." He pointed at his forearm. "I know what these really are." He suddenly pushed me back out into the open. Voldemort was already poised and ready to give the final commands. But I concentrated on the Dark Lord and how much I hated him. And while looking into the vile eyes and pointing my wand at Percy, I finally uttered the killing curse.

"_Avada Kedavra_." I closed my eyes. When I opened them, Percy was on the ground. At that moment, two Death Eaters came in, dragging along Blaise and Pansy, both unconscious and flopping. They were beat up and I could barely recognize them. Then, I sickly realized that the two were dead. "Used Legilimency on them as protocol requires, my Lord. The white bird was some Transfiguration spell they used," one of them said. Voldemort smiled, walking over to me and taking my wrist.

"Excellent, Malfame," Voldemort said while motioning for the Death Eaters to come forward. He grasped my left forearm and rolled up my sleeve, pressing his wand against my flesh. "Now I must warn you. This hurts more than any Cruciatus Curse you've ever experienced." He recited something in a language I didn't understand and suddenly detached himself, eyes open wide. He took one final glance at me before I looked down at my arm. It felt numbed, but the feeling associated with numbness only grew until—

"AAUGH!" I whimpered out, feeling my skin sizzling as if I had touched a hot, Muggle stove. I bit my lip and shook as my skin bubbled and blistered. The Dark Lord stepped in again.

"That's not it," he said as he dug his wand into my burning skin. My voice caught up in my throat and I silently screamed. Finally, it ended. My forearm was emblazoned with a gruesome skull and snake. I felt sick to my stomach. The Death Eaters shoved the bodies at me. I glimpsed under their cloaks, surprised to find the Zabinis, alive and winking. They left the mansion. "Take them to the dungeons," Voldemort said before disappearing.

---

I levitated the two bodies downstairs, where a handful of Death Eaters were waiting around Narcissa's cell. It was open and all their wands were aimed at her body. She was huddled against the wall, a look of hopelessness in her eyes. "Get going," I told them, making a waving motion with my hands. They remained silent but seemed to hesitate. "You heard me. Get," I said calmly. Surprisingly, they moved, grasping their forearms in the process. Soon only Narcissa, the two bodies, and I were left.

"How are you still alive? Why did they listen to you?" Narcissa asked, crawling to the front of the cell.

"It seems I'm the Dark Lord's newest favorite," I answered, showing her my Dark Mark. She reached through the iron bars, holding my hand.

"Oh Anna, what have you done? You're under his power now. If he wants you to do something, you'll have to do it…or else." I said nothing in response, knowing that what I said could be monitored.

"I wanted to show you how I get rid of Blaise and Pansy Zabini's bodies," I answered. I dropped their bodies in front of the cell. Narcissa was looking at me wide-eyed, not believing her own ears. I crouched down and waved my wand. And, just as I suspected, their features returned to normal. I smiled. Lana's parents were brilliant—they had cast a charm to make these two Death Eaters look like themselves. With another flick of my wand they bulged and exploded into ashes.

"Do you know what you're doing?"

"Not really, no," I answered. "But I know these are connected to _him_." I pointed to the Dark Mark. I got up and gave a final smile for my grandmother and walked back up from the dungeons. I was met by the Dark Lord once more, who beckoned me towards him.

"You are cruel," he said, touching my forearm. "And are now mine." He sat down dramatically. "I had wondered who to send into Hogwarts…Rowle has served his purpose, as you can see," Voldemort said, gesturing to the other side of the room, where a body was lying down on the cool tile. I shivered and said nothing. Who was this man to so coolly kill his own men? Especially when they were embedded with a part of his soul? "And Chang turned out to be too weak for me. But now I have you. I want you to go back to Hogwarts…and continue to break down Hogwart's protective spells with the Slytherins. And report to me what that Mudblood of a Headmistress is doing."

---

It was Monday when I returned to school. Through Lana's parents, my friends knew what had happened and comforted me. "Why did you do it? I mean other than to get out," Lana asked.

"I need permission to tell you that," I answered simply as all of us sat huddled together at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. There was, however, one thing that Lana's parents didn't say—they had no way of knowing what had happened to Lucas.

"Did you find him?" were the first words out of Cassius's mouth.

"Voldemort ordered him to kill me," I said. "Then he said goodbye." I explained what I had witnessed. It broke my heart to see Cassius's silent tears. He said nothing at Lucas's final words. Finally, we were silenced when Headmistress Hermione Weasley stood up.

"It's kind of odd to be giving a welcoming speech in the middle of the school year," she started. "But let me tell you I'm honored to finally be the Headmistress of this school. Due to the disappearance of Professor Abbot, I have personally requested someone else to come and teach Defense Against the Dark Arts," she continued. The Ministry, as I recalled, had a field day explaining how a man just up and disappeared. I knew, unfortunately, what had really happened to him. "Let me present Professor Harry Potter!" she announced, causing an outburst of clapping. I stood up in my seat at the sound of my father's name, staring at him in surprise and fear as he greeted the students. "Also, our new Muggle Studies teacher, due to the retirement of our other professor, Professor Draco Malfoy." The hairs of my neck stood up as I felt the hand of my other father touch my shoulder.

"Muggle Studies? Really?" I asked.

"Don't try to be funny. You've got some explaining to do," he said.

---

My fathers, Severus and I met outside the Great Hall as the rest of the students and teachers ate. "Come on," I said, opening the door and stepping outside. "The best person to explain isn't me."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked suspiciously. I fearfully glanced at the Dark Mark above Hogwarts.

"I made a centaur's promise," I answered and led the adults into the forest. We traveled for a while through the branches before a pair of centaurs stepped through the shadows and stopped us. I walked up to them, grasping their elbows in welcome. They were a little surprised before they recognized me.

"Herdmember Anna Malfame!" one of them said.

"Malfoy-Potter," I corrected. The centaurs hesitated. "Nevermind. Please take us to Chief Ascus."

"You can't bring in other wizards!" the other centaur complained.

"My fathers and my godfather. I've come to discuss the promise I made," I told the centaurs. They glanced at each other and turned around, leading us further inside. We finally came out into a familiar clearing. A throng of centaurs stopped in their tracks as we came out. Ascus was among him, along with his wife, Fijjone. Beside her was an aging centaur, the Seer Edda. To my surprise, the first words out of Ascus's mouth wasn't asking why I had brought others. It was a fearful, "Where is your dragon egg?" I had completely forgotten that I had left the egg in the Chamber of Secrets. I didn't know what would happen to me at the Malfoy Mansion and had risked leaving the egg. Without constant contact, the hatched dragon would kill me. I put on a grim face. I pulled down my left sleeve, my parents grimacing at the smiling Dark Mark.

"I'm dead anyway," I told the chief.

-

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**A/N: Hooray for internet connection! I am currently on vacation and had finished another chapter! I think I will only have one or two more chapters left in year 6 and then I will move on to THE FINAL STORY!! BTW, I had made up the titles for each story about two years ago. And I had kept all the original names... however Anna Malfame and the Final Battle seems kind of corny, no? So I might have something else. For those of you who are reading my newest fic, Potter Who?, please be patient about the next chapter. Although I have the internet, a lot of the story will be based on recorded shows and movies...which I don't have with me. *sweatdrop* Sorry about that, but I want to be as accurate as possible and at the same time try to make something new and fun... Anyways, expect something from the Key to Time series in the next chapter of Potter Who? **

**Much love,**

**akiqueen**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

"I killed someone," I told him—it was only when I said that that I realized the full impact of what had happened. Recently, everything had been a big blur; from eating to talking with my friends. "I killed Percy Weasley." Then I turned to my parents. "You had something to do with this, didn't you? Why didn't you mention that my owl just happened to be an Animagus?" I accused.

"He felt like he owed me a life debt," Harry said. "And when we learned that he could look over you…it was a good deal."

"You didn't kill him," Draco added. He threw something towards me. I caught it without blinking and looked at the item: a tiny piece of Zonko's candy in a green wrapper. I carefully unwrapped it and _WHAM—_a big, green light flashed. It was eerily alike to the killing curse. "As you can guess, these don't do so well on the market."

"Well, a light just can't kill you, right?" I asked, shaking.

"No, he took a potion that would asphyxiate him… as soon as he learned where you were, he downed it and had maybe ten minutes to live. Killed himself to let you free. I guess he had some inkling of what you were doing," Harry responded. "Now the only question left to ask is: _why_ did you let yourself be marked?"

"That is something I must explain," Edda said, stepping up.

---

It was deathly silent after Edda had finished explaining what the Dark Marks really were: Horcruxes. "Said I was the last one to be marked before he became too inhuman to survive," I added. They fearfully looked up at Hogwarts; although they couldn't see the Dark Mark, my parents now knew it was there.

"They are all tied together," Edda said, referring to the Dark Marks. "And ultimately tied to the Dark Lord. If all of those who bear his mark die, then he shall die as well."

"He destroyed the Horcrux in me but I didn't die," Harry added.

"You were loved," she explained. Harry sighed and remembered that day years ago—he saw Dumbledore then, and he had explained it in a lot more words than the centaur.

"You are allowed to tell anyone about what we have told you…I see that this is much more serious than I thought it would be," Chief Ascus said.

"Thank you," I responded. "And if you'll excuse me, I need to figure out what the Slytherins are doing. Make sure they tear down all of Hogwart's defenses." My godfather looked at me and frowned. "Dark Lord's orders." It seemed like he understood perfectly.

---

Back at school, I rounded up my friends and asked to speak with Headmistress Hermione Weasley—she agreed. In the safe depths of her office, we huddled up as I told them everything. To say they were scared was an understatement. The Headmistress looked uneasy as she dismissed us, whispering quietly to herself, "I wish that old poof had lived long enough to help us. Dumbledore, you were always the man with the answers…"

"I hope you don't plan on asking me anything. I'm just his painting," an old man in a portrait replied. Hermione rolled her eyes. Thinking about what I just heard, I made my way to the dungeons with Lana, who had shaken the password out of a young first year. As we entered, the Slytherins stiffened—their noses were pressed against dusty old books and their fingers were dirtied with ink.

"I know what's been going on," I told them. "And I've been ordered to take charge." I revealed to them my Dark Mark. "Through me, the Dark Lord will be checking on your progress." I looked at my House and winked. "For Merlin's sake, make sure you read and reread everything _five_ times to make sure it's right. Lana, please explain the details to them," I said and left. I knew that Voldemort could ransack my memory anytime. Leaving Lana to take charge of the Slytherins would be beneficial to me—if only I could convince the Dark Lord that she was willing to work under me.

I made my way to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Inside, a familiar ghost was waiting for me, but it wasn't the weeping Ravenclaw. It was Suta. "How'd you know I was going to come down here?"

"Figured you would remember about the dragon egg eventually. Wanted to see if you could open up the Chamber through hissing," she replied, flying up and onto my shoulder.

"I can't tell you how happy I am to see you. I think I'm in way over my head."

"Trying to be Severus Snape is a hard job," she agreed. I was silent as I mulled over my friend's words. My godfather had played on both sides, ultimately working for the Order of the Phoenix. It seemed like I was in a familiar situation. I just had to let the old snake-arse keep thinking that he had power over me. I cut my finger like before and pushed myself down the pipe. After a moment, I landed on the bone-strewn ground. "Not a very pleasant place," Suta said after I illuminated the cave. We walked until we got to the obelisk of Salazar. The only thing there was a basilisk carcass. No egg.

"Well, if I'm eaten, Suta, I guess all of this was for nothing," I said, goose bumps covering my arms. I walked closer until—_thud_. Something landed behind me. I glanced to my side, seeing a sickeningly large shadow. However, when I turned around, the dragon in front of me was up to my knee. He growled and pounced on top of me, licking my face with a rough tongue.

"Either he's seeing how you taste like or he likes you," Suta laughed, flying around the dragon as he tried to bite her playfully. "By the way, did you ever become an Animagus?" she asked.

"It's how I convinced the Dark Lord to take me on as his final Death Eater," I replied. Suta and the dragon were still as I concentrated and became a snake.

"I guess we can't fly together," Suta said.

"_Basilisk!_" someone roared and I turned my snake head to the dragon who was sniffing me up.

"Huh?" I said and was dazed at my words.

"Animagi can talk to each other in their animal forms," Suta replied happily. But the dragon opened up its mouth and said, "_You're a basilisk!_" he seemed to laugh, smoke blowing out of his nostrils. "_How is it that my mum's my favourite food?"_

"I'm not your mum," I replied earnestly.

"What are you talking about, Anna?" Suta asked. It was then that I realized that she couldn't hear the dragon.

"_We're both reptiles,_" the dragon said, jumping over to me. "_And of course you're my mum! Who else would leave me so much food?_" he asked, gesturing towards the dead basilisk. "_I promise I won't eat you,_" he told me sincerely.

"I can talk to my dragon," I told Suta.

"_Cassimere_," he supplied and I told Suta. She only laughed harder.

"You're a mother!" she giggled.

"_There's some sort of magic on the water. There's this big hole waaaaaay under that I can't pass through,_" Cassimere sniffed. I tasted the air and turned to Suta.

"Cassimere says there's some sort of barrier on the water that prevents you from going too deep. Care to see if he's right?" I asked. She fluttered her wings and dived down, only to come up a moment later.

"I don't think he's lying. There's something there preventing me from going on."

"Suta, you head on up and tell someone that I'm down here. Cassimere, you'll be fine here, right?"

"_Until I learn magic then I'm stuck down here,_" he pouted.

"What'll you be doing?" Suta asked.

"Going through this barrier," I said.

---

I slithered to the edge of the water and took a deep breath. I dived in, smoothly sailing to the bottom of the large pool. I was able to make out a large, basilisk-sized opening and swam through it without difficulty. The ground started to slope upwards and I finally made it up on dry land. I transformed back into a human and illuminated to small cave. It was small, musky and damp. There were some shelves around the perimeter lined with books in Latin. There was a large painting of Salazar Slytherin on the far end of the room, magic-preserved flowers lining it. "A bit of a narcissist," I murmured to myself and walked forward. In the middle of the room was a regal chair and desk. On the desk was old, yellowed parchment and quills arranged by size. However, it was what was on top of the desk that scared me the most—an old time-turner that looked like an oversized hourglass. Someone stepped from the shadows. I half expected it to be the girl in gothic clothing I recognized as Death. However, it was a tall, young man with a trailing cloak. He had sandy-blonde hair and a nondescript face.

"Anna Malfoy-Potter," he greeted and gestured for me to sit down. I did so, never taking my eyes off of him. "Your parents couldn't decide which name to keep upon marriage, so they kept both," he explained to me. I already knew. "You originally decided to take your original name once they outed themselves, but you didn't expect it to be during the Triwizard Tournament. So it'll be Malfame for now, I guess," he added. "I'm from the future," he explained, "I am the embodiment of Time. I believe you have met Death and Fate…"

"From the future?" I asked suspiciously, eyeing the smiling man.

"Of course. They have history books about you. But I can't tell you about any of that. Spoilers, as my doctor would call it," he said. _Time is an odd fellow_, I thought as he grasped the hourglass. "Now, I am here to prevent time from stopping," he told me. "As Fate had told you, if Voldemort does not fall, everyone will die. And time will stop."

"Is this some sort of business venture for you, then?" I asked. He laughed.

"You weren't supposed to meet us. We are not supposed to tangle in human affairs. But I am here to bring you back in time and then to bring you back. Flip the hourglass over to go back in time. Once the sand runs out, though, you'll end up back here." He leaned on the table. "Now time is very complicated. A day in the past could be a year here. So," he advised, "don't be surprised if you age dramatically." He then flipped the hourglass over and handed it to me before I could say anything else. "And remember; no spoilers!" was the last thing he said.

---

I materialized outside the Great Hall where, coincidentally, there were no students. I hid the hourglass in my bookbag. For a moment I thought I was still in my time. But as I opened the doors, a familiar scene appeared before me. My fathers, younger, sitting at their respective tables. An aging wizard as Headmaster, Dumbledore. Professor McGonagall talking to him. I looked around like a crazy person, wondering what the bloody hell I was supposed to do now. No one made a fuss as I walked in, making my way to the Slytherin tables. I shoved over some students and sat directly across my father, Draco Malfoy. When he finally looked up at me, he jumped, spilling his pumpkin juice all over me. "I'm sorry, you reminded me of someone," he apologized. It was then that I knew something was wrong. My father would never apologize—unless…

"What year are you in? I've never seen you before," Pansy asked from beside him, clutching Blaise's arm.

"Sixth," I answered truthfully.

"I've never noticed you in any of our classes," Pansy said suspiciously. So I was right. This was after I had put Harry and Draco together back in my third year. I still remembered my father's talking about it—that one time together, that brief period of peace between houses. And then they drifted apart again and the rivalry started again. It wasn't until their seventh year, when Harry saved Draco from the magical fire in the Room of Requirement, that their relationship started again. This was the year the Dark Mark was set on Hogwarts.

"I'm new," I answered.

"In the middle of the school year?" Blaise asked. Oh, bugger.

"Yes. I don't even have a schedule! This damned school can't even provide the simplest of things," I said. The Slytherins around us who heard snickered. It was then that I had them. "I guess I better go ask for one from the old man himself," I said and lifted myself up out of my seat. It was a good pretext to go up to the Headmaster. However, when I got up, I bumped into another student.

"I'm sorry," she immediately said, distracted with a red-haired girl. It was Cho Chang and Ginny Weasley. I stiffened and my mind went back to Lucas. My mind replayed his death and I was almost sick in front of the Ravenclaw. I grasped her hands, to her surprise, and said, "No, I'm sorry. Please, forgive me. I couldn't do anything about it." Leaving the confused students, I dashed over to the teachers. They didn't stop eating as I approached but did look as I stopped in front of the Headmaster.

"Yes?" he asked. "Do you care for a lemon drop?" He took out a bag of hard candy. I gaped.

"I need to see you, Headmaster," I said seriously. "I'm new and I need a schedule."

"I don't seem to recall any students registering in the middle of the school year…and for that sort of thing, you'd need to talk to your Head of House, Professor Snape."

"I need to talk to you," I said. It was then that I concentrated within myself and dared to touch Albus. Using Legilimency, I left one word in my wake. _Horcrux. _He widened his eyes in fear.

"Well, there's no time to waste, then!" he said hurriedly, standing up. "Come along!" I followed him out.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

As soon as we entered his office, Dumbledore set a couple of spells with a flick of his wand and sat down in his chair. With another spell, the portraits turned around and couldn't hear or move, much to their protest. He pressed his forehead with his hands, one black and charred-looking. "How do you know about Horcruxes?" he asked me.

_I _am_ a bleedin' Horcrux!_ I almost told him. But instead I took out the hourglass and set it on the table in front of him. "A time turner?" he asked, looking at it. "But this looks very heavy duty! How long ago did you travel back? Twenty years? More?"

"I was given strict rules. I'm here to ask about Horcruxes. You see, Voldemort didn't stop at seven. Each of the Dark Marks he brandishes on his Death Eaters is another Horcrux," I told him.

"How do you know?" Dumbledore asked.

"He told me himself," I answered, showing him my Dark Mark. He blanched. "His final Death Eater," I said sickly. "Now, you didn't explain much to my father and his friends. I think you owe me an explanation. You need to tell me everything you know!"

"Your father?" Dumbledore asked after a moment. I flushed, realizing what I had said.

"Just keep some of the basilisk's blood," I said. Dumbledore gave a wide smile.

"You're Harry's girl, aren't you?" he asked excitedly.

"Please, I don't have much time," I said, looking at the half-empty hourglass.

"Do you know how to remove memories?" Dumbledore asked, suddenly serious.

"I have my own Pensieve, if that's what you mean."

"Do you have the memory of Voldemort making the Dark Mark? Because none of the Death Eaters I've had interrogated remember." I nodded and Dumbledore bent down and retrieved a bowl. I carefully fished out the memory from my head and placed it in the bowl.

"What will you do with that?" I asked.

"I think it holds the key. I always thought the Dark marks were tied together somehow…"

"More than you know," I answered. "But I can't say anymore."

"I know. Spoilers," Dumbledore replied. "But I will leave you my answer…I fear I will die soon. And the old Headmasters are made into portraits. Come up to my portrait and ask it to open up for you. In your name, of course," he smiled. I glanced at the draining sand and gauged that I only had about five minutes left.

"You snarky old man," I said. "You just want to know the future. Fine. Anna Malfame," I said.

"You're real name."

"Anna Malfoy-Potter. Happy now?" I asked a shocked Dumbledore.

---

I grabbed the time turner as it reached its last grains of sand. I felt myself being pulled and landed back in the musky cave, where Time was waiting for me. I handed him the hourglass.

"It's been approximately two months," he said as I ran to the water.

"Ugh, summer school," I answered before turning back into a snake and heading out. Cassimere was there to greet me and gingerly picked up me up in his talons and flew me back up to the bathroom. As soon as I was myself, though, a booming entity entered my head.

"_Malfoy-Potter!_" It screamed through Legilimency. It was the Dark Lord.

"_Yes?" _I answered calmly.

"_Where were you?!_" he screamed.

"_Quidditch injury,_" I improvised, showing him an image of me getting battered at practice. "_I just guaranteed myself the summer at Hogwarts. Think about it, my lord. The school all to myself. No one will suspect I will be working on dismantling the spells for you._" Voldemort hesitated. "_You didn't think the Slytherins would stay over the summer? That would have been extremely suspicious."_

"_It seems you have more of a mind than these other fools,"_ he finally said and left my head. I sighed in relief and raced down and past the students who looked shocked as I passed.

"Anna!" Suta yelled, flying down. "Where were you?" she asked. "I thought you had died in there or something! I'll tell the others!"

"Get them to meet in the Headmistress's office!" I yelled over my shoulder as I bounded towards the gargoyles and after Headmistress Weasley.

"Anna!" she said, astonished to see me. "Where have you been?"

"Talking with Dumbledore," I said, breathing heavily as she opened the door. I raced to the old man's portrait and put my hand on it. "Anna Malfoy-Potter," I told the old man in the portrait. He smiled and swung open, revealing—

"The Sorting Hat's kept there," Headmistress Weasley said, coming up from behind me. My other friends quickly piled in.

"I traveled back in time and gave Dumbledore my memory of _this_," I said, showing them the Dark Mark. They winced when they saw it. "He said he'd give me all the answers I needed behind his painting."

"The only thing in there is that musty old hat," Zack Weasley said.

---

Headmistress Weasley allowed me to take the Sorting Hat, but the hat never opened its mouth and talked to me. So, it hung on a post next to my bed until the end of the school year. It seemed like I was at a loss. I got my Apparition license and with it a snake charm from Lana. ("I always seem to miss your birthday these days. Can't decide what to get you until the end of the year!") Suta returned home to her mother, but promised that she would persuade her mother to enroll her in Hogwarts. So, as all the students boarded the train, I waved good-bye to my friends and watched as they all left. The school had summer professors who came in to teach any of the students who did not meet some requirement or failed a class. There were few of these students this year, so I literally had the castle all to myself. To do the Dark Lord's biddings, of course.

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**A/N: And this is it! The next update will be the seventh (and final) story!!**

**akiqueen**


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